Legal pot in CA today.

New era opens in California with first sales of recreational marijuana

The day has been long anticipated by cannabis advocates who pushed for voters to pass Proposition 64 in November 2016, largely decriminalizing marijuana and allowing — starting Monday — for the commercial sale of products to adults 21 or older.

What already happened : Personal cannabis laws took effect earlier, in November 2016, allowing adults 21 or older to possess, transport and gift of up to 1 ounce of cannabis flowers to other adults 21 or older, as well as possess up to 8 grams of extract or infused foods, and grow up to six plants. Smoking in public is still prohibited, and marijuana remains illegal under federal law.

Who’s paying: California will charge both recreational and medical buyers a 15 percent excise tax, which is expected to eventually bring in $1 billion or more a year for marijuana research, addiction prevention and boosted law enforcement, among other things. Recreational customers must pay sales tax as well, unlike those with a state-authorized medical identification card. In addition, cities can choose to impose local cannabis taxes.

What about medical marijuana? For the state’s vast medical marijuana system, Jan. 1 is very much business as usual. Medical stores will remain open to patients who can show ID and a valid doctor’s recommendation to use cannabis. In the coming weeks and months, more medical dispensaries and delivery services will obtain state licenses to sell to recreational customers.